Guide Dog Training Center : School Gives the Blind a Friend and a Helper

Glenn Rogers is counting on his new companion, Rick, to help him move at a fast pace around his hometown of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

John Kraus hopes Brandy will make his strolls safer in a rural section of Redwood City, Calif., and Arnold Ostwald, a New York attorney, expects Walt to help him maneuver through Manhattan.

The men, who lost their sight in three different ways, are among 14 members of class 431 at Northern California’s Guide Dogs for the Blind training center. On graduation day, they will receive a leash instead of a diploma from youngsters who helped raise from puppies the dogs trained to be blind people’s constant companions.

Variety of Products

The American Assn. for the Blind said there are many new products on the market for the blind and visually impaired, such as talking clocks, Braille calculators and items to make cooking and household chores easier. But outdoor mobility aids other than canes and trained dogs are still in the experimental stages.

There are some devices, such as “beeping” canes that use computerized sensors to detect objects and so help avoid a collision, but they are expensive and often bulky. Still to be marketed are such experimental electronic wizardry as infrared cameras that enable a person to “see” the shapes of objects.

“The dog as a mobility partner has been around at least since the days of Pompeii and will be around for a very long time,” said guide dog school spokeswoman Jennifer Bassing.

More Than a Leader

“A dog does more than lead a blind person,” she said. “The dog is a companion, a partner in every sense of the word. In many ways it gives a person a whole new outlook on life, a reason to get up in the morning because they have a living being dependent on them for food, care and exercise.

“This kind of companionship is something that no new technology can replace.”

Rogers, 23, who was shot in the head and blinded in an accident in the Florida Everglades three years ago, said he decided a guide dog was the only alternative he had for the fast mobility he desired for his life style.

“He’s not a magic wand, but he’ll make travel much easier for me,” said Rogers, who has trained with his golden retriever, Rick, on the busy streets of downtown San Rafael and along the steep hills of San Francisco.

Plenty to Do

Rogers said he’s always on the go when he’s home in Florida, and he belongs to a “rap group” of people who had sight and lost it. He took part in a White Cane Awareness Day in Fort Lauderdale in January, when about 85 people with canes and dog guides marched several blocks to the courthouse to draw attention to the needs of blind people.

“The first thing to learn is that life doesn’t stop because you’re blind,” said Rogers, a former busboy who aspires to be a counselor. “I got shot in the head and thank the Lord I’m alive. I had the good fortune to have seen and known the colors, the girls and all that good stuff.”

In an innovative program pioneered at the grassy, 11-acre site in San Rafael, three breeds of puppies are raised by local volunteer 4-H members. Aged 3 to 18 months, they are trained for five months before being matched with their new owners.

About 50% of the dogs--German shepherds and golden and black Labrador retrievers--pass the requirements for guide work. Those that fail are returned as pets to the puppy raisers who helped socialize and house train them.

28 Days of Training

People selected for guide dog training at the school, a charitable organization, must be legally blind but otherwise physically able to care for and handle the canine without assistance. They spend 28 days, without cost, in a rigorous program at the center.

When they graduate, they’re part of a select group. Of the 500,000 legally blind people in the United States, only 1% use a trained dog. Many of these are people who had sight and lost it through accident or disease. Of the total number of blind people, about 97,000 were born that way and many of them also use dogs.

“These aren’t poor, unfortunate blind people who come here,” Bassing said. “They’re people who have made important, positive decisions about where they want their life to go.”

The purebred dogs are picked for their even disposition, medium size, short coats and ability to work. The pups are born at the school, and when they reach 3 months they are placed in the homes of 4-H members in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho and Colorado.

Obeying Commands

At about 18 months, the dogs undergo training that starts with basic obedience to commands and advances to specialized work wearing a leather harness. Instructors finally put on blindfolds and work the dogs on the streets of suburban San Rafael, learning to stop at intersections and to avoid obstacles. The dogs are also taught to disobey an owner’s command if it isn’t safe to proceed.

“These are dogs that are happier working than lying around the house,” Bassing said. “About 50% of those that go into training get rejected. We’re looking for a dog that’s as perfect as possible. We want its owner to feel confident that the dog is perfectly trained and representative of its breed.”

Once dog and blind person are matched, they eat, sleep and travel together for 28 days, practicing voice and harness commands. Upon completion of the training, the school will have spent $10,000 per pair, the money coming from private donations.

The school, established in 1942, is one of eight in the nation and the third oldest. In September, the 5,000th graduate team left the school and, like all the others, will receive follow-up visits by a staff member and free assistance upon request.

Following Directions

“There’s no secret to using a guide dog,” Bassing said. “The dog is just doing its work at the direction of the human. The person must have a sense of mobility and know where he wants to go.”

Kraus, a retired industrial relations specialist, said Brandy, a golden Labrador, would make walking along the country road near his home a real treat.

“Cane travel was always scary for me. I had to feel my way around obstacles,” said Kraus, who lost his sight two years ago as a result of detached retinas. “With a dog, I feel as free as a bird, almost.”

Ostwald, of Forest Hills, N.Y., said he hopes Walt, a black Labrador, will give him more independence and some needed companionship.

A Little Apprehensive

“I spend most of my time in the middle of Manhattan, and I’m frankly apprehensive about whether travel with a dog will be better than cane travel,” said Ostwald, who suffers from retinitis pigmentosa.